As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Simon and Schuster I give my review of Alice Hoffman's new novel “Magic Lessons”. As in Practical Magic, the reader is shown the origin of the Owens family curse ( a curse of death to fall on any man who dared love an Owens) and introduced to the matriarch of their family line Maria Owens. This novel follows Maria as she navigates childhood and adolescence in England, the tropical islands of Curacao, and the new world prominently Salem Massachusetts before the beginning of the infamous Witch trials of 1693. As her new life in America became layered with family, friends, and love the novel was grounded in the Owens family history adding anecdotes expressed in later novels. I enjoyed the romance in this novel and how it was presented for no matter the circumstance it felt plausible for the character to have experienced. This novel was delightful, moving, and filled with heart. Hoffman adds the depth needed to bring Maria Owens to life and helped make her Practical Magic series much stronger for its contribution. Overall I gave this novel 4 out of 5 stars on good reads.

The author's writing is spellbinding and this is a exceptional addition to her work. I loved this book and highly recommend this for your reading enjoyment and all fans of Practical Magic.
Magic Lessons is a prequel to The Rules of Magic, which was the prequel to Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman wrote Practical Magic in 1995 . The Rules of Magic with Magic Lessons were written three years later. Magic Lessons takes us to the 1600s to the story of Sally Owens and her background. Each book is exceptional and I loved this book that centers on the original Owens and the curse that she did which affected generations to come. The magic is outstanding and a enjoyable part of this book as well as the others in the series. I highly recommend this book for your reading enjoyment.

I drank this book in. It moved through me and I loved it... the ethereal quality to the writing, the bits and pieces of every day magic thatvfeels like its within reach.... are just some of the reason you pick up a book by this Author. I need a Tulip tree now, and will be rereading Practical Magic. This was a beautiful story that I would not hesitate to recommend or read again. Thank you for the opportunity to read this, I am grateful and really enjoyed it.

From page one this book had me absolutely entranced. I loved learning the background on the Owens and how they became to be who they were. This was a magical tale over many years that always had me asking what could happen next? Filled with happiness, magic, hurt, longing, and love it will have everything you could want covered.

I have read Practical Magic but can not wait to dive into The Rules of Magic next!

In this lovely new book from Hoffman we learn where the Owens bloodline started and how the curse that surrounds them came about. Hannah Owens has lived alone in the woods for most of her life when one day she discovers an abandoned baby in a field close to her home.
She soon sees that the child, Maria, is special and hopes to be able to teach her all that she knows. Maria grows up learning the goodness of the "Unnamed Arts" and that you should always love someone who will love you back. As a young girl Maria finds out that love can be fickle. She thought she had found the love of a good man only to be abandoned by him, left pregnant and alone. Life has a way of knocking you down sometimes making it hard to see past your own pains and hurts. Maria soon gives up on love and utters a curse that will haunt her bloodline forever. Follow along as Maria struggles to be the best person she can, teaching her own daughter the goodness of the 'Unnamed Arts". Beautifully written this book will enchant you from beginning to end, I surely couldn't put it down and didn't until the end. A truly spellbinding read that teaches you to look at each lesson life puts before you and that rushing to judgment can change your life in unexpected ways. I laughed, cried, and even prayed that all would turn out well for the characters in th end, it was an emotional journey but it was one I was happy I took.

I absolutely love Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman did a wonderful job of creating the prequel and giving us the history of the Owens Family. A truly magical novel and a perfect October read.

Alice Hoffman is a magical writer and an author I have come to love. Magic Lessons, her most recent book, is a prequel to The Rules of Magic, which is a prequel to Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman wrote Practical Magic in 1995 and 22 years later, delivered the prequel The Rules of Magic with Magic Lessons arriving three years later. While the Rules of Magic is set in the 1960s, it’s prequel Magic Lessons takes us way back to the 1600s. Will Alice Hoffman fill in the several centuries in between in subsequent books? Your guess is as good as mine butI sure hope so.

All three of these books are complete standalones: none necessitates reading any of the others. Each one is an enchanting adventure that will whisk you away to another world without even realizing it. Hoffman weaves magic into each story so seamlessly that it appears to be “normal.”

Magic Lessons centers around Maria Owens and the curse she releases on all future generations of Owens, which we meet in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. Now that I just completed reading Magic Lessons, I am eager to re-read the other two.

Much of the story is set in Salem, Massachusetts and informs the reader about the witchcraft trials as well as the struggle of women in a man’s world. It’s hard to imagine or believe the test to determine if someone is a witch — if you don’t drown then you are a witch and will be burned at the stake and if you do drown then you weren’t a witch but you’re dead.

The story begins with Maria Owens as an abandoned baby who is taken in by Hannah Owens and is taught the basics of magic since they both have the “sight.” When Hannah is suddenly killed, Maria is on her own at a very young age. She seeks out her birth mother and at the age of 11 is sold into indentured servitude for five years. During this time she meets a man who will completely change her life. Maria is freed at the age of 16 and is once again, on her own and makes her way to Massachusetts with a baby in tow.

Maria is a strong woman and an admirable heroine. She is multidimensional and her relationships are very real and believable. The reader gets to know Maria very well and roots for her safety and happiness. We witness her skills at healing the sick and those with troubles of the heart. She doesn’t fit in with the Puritan ethic and wears bright red boots while other women wear a lot of grey. Women facing injustice is a major theme of the story and of this time in history. “... for women were blamed for much of the world’s troubles...” You could be accused of witchcraft for any reason, no matter how outlandish the claim. Women were not taught to read or write and if one was caught with a book, she could be thrown in jail and burned at the stake.

“.... a woman couldn’t walk down the street without fear of being accused of misdoings, especially if a book was found in her belongings, or if she could read and write her own name.”

The story never slows and the plot keeps the reader turning the pages. Hoffman immerses us into the 17th century with historical accuracy. It is readily apparent that Hoffman did a great deal of research so that the historical element is authentic. As always, Hoffman’s prose is very descriptive and engaging while her storytelling is captivating. I hope there are more books about the Owens family in the future.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book at first is slow. Which was hard for me to keep pushing on. Am I glad that I did. I loved the storytelling. As a huge fan of practical magic, I really enjoyed knowing more about the Owen Women. I have handsold this at my store(s) but, do give a disclaimer that the first few chapters are slow. This book is more darker (which I was more then happy to enjoy!) I highly suggest this book for any witchy readers! Please write more!!!

Like the two books before it, Magic Lessons also exuded a spirit of the realistic yet ethereal in a mist of romance. I was yet again caught in its spell. Hoffman holds her themes to the forefront of the story – love has power, use your magic carefully, and help others. For women resistant to falling in love, there is a lot of beautiful traditional romance in these stories. There is wooing, slow burns, a development of attraction over time. Beautiful. The Owens are so resistant to this unstoppable force due to a curse started by the first witch of the bloodline, Maria Owens. In her rage against her lover and with the threat of the noose around her neck, she calls out a curse to any man who falls in love with an Owens woman. This curse is another theme that runs through all three books, a conflict to make the romance more forbidden and complicated. But now, we get to witness the roots of the curse over the Owens women in Magic Lessons.
In the late 1600s, Maria is found as a baby in a field by a local cunning woman named Hannah, and as the years go on, Maria is taught her first few lessons of magic. She is given her grimoire, and learns the recipe to Courage Tea, a staple in all of the Practical Magic books. With glee, I learned the origins of the Practical Magic characters I enjoy so much.
Maria lives in Essex county, England for the first few years of her life, but finds her way to the Curacao, then Massachusetts, then New York. Her journey is filled with women tapping at her door at night, looking for the aid of magic. While in Massachusetts, she boldly lives in Salem. I sweat through those chapters, marveling the bravery of Maria to live near Puritans who would soon be known for their witch hunts. Would Maria get be one of these victims?
With Maria is her daughter, Faith, a blood-line witch like her mother and her mother’s mother. Embittered by her miserable childhood, she is the exact opposite of her mother, seeking darker, more selfish magic. Seeing these generations of witches was fascinating, as Hoffman mixes traditional traits of witches – they have familiars, they can’t sink in water – with more supernatural traits – they can change the weather and see the future – with more realistic traits – certain herbs have healing properties and can be brewed into teas or made into balms. This blend makes her witches with one foot in our world and one world in the fantastic, and both feet in the mystical.
The travel, drama, magic, romance over the generations took two of my favorite genres – fantasy and family sagas – and made the ultimate fall read.

The world fell away the moment I picked up Magic Lessons. I loved this eloquent story of Maria Owens, the matriarch of the Owens bloodline. It’s one of those books that you think about the characters long after you’ve finished reading. I was left with a massive book hangover!

Alice Hoffman’s writing is magical, always. One might think after reading Practical Magic and a sequel, Rules of Magic- that this prequel wouldn’t engage the reader. Wrong! From England to Curaçao to Salem, Massachusetts then New York, this history of the Owens family in the 1600’s captivates. Romance, magic, and social/political history blend seamlessly and touchingly. Parts are so tender you will be challenged not to shed tears. I was.

I absolutely loved Magic Lessons. I am a fan of the other two books in this safa and this prequel did not disappoint! I will be recommending it to my customers at every opportunity!

I’ve always loved Alice Hoffman. I’ve eagerly read each of her books as soon as they become available. Her newest book, Magic Lessons, is no less as captivating as her past accomplishments.
Alice is lyrically fluid in magic spells, witches (good and bad), natural healers, history of witch hunts, and soul searching. She brings to vivid life the ugly truth of the Salem Witch Trials, an embarrassing scar on American history. But her story doesn’t dwell on that event specifically. It dwells on what it was like for females in England and America during that time in history: to be raped with no recourse, to give birth with no medicine, to survive on less than a farmer’s horse receives in sustenance.
She creates a beautiful story of one small child’s loss and how it affects her through her years.
Surviving only because of the love of a medicine woman who lives in the woods, Maria grows up to develop a bitter taste of love. Her anger ad quick temper causes her to say something that she later regrets, something that will haunt her and her descendants.
Full of spells, tonics, potions, and remedies, this story reads like an old medicine woman’s secret and trusted diary. It’s a refreshing break from the realities of today and allows the reader to live and breathe during the tumultuous 1600’s England and America.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

MAGIC LESSONS, by Alice Hoffman, is quintessential Hoffman. The Healers recognized and shared their art other who have the magic, even as society, especially the men, hunted and destroyed them and their families. Yet, they persisted. This is the gut wrenching story on one such woman and her daughter who understood the magic, were tempted by the dark side, and were redeemed. We never know how easily we are led astray by hurt, anger, and revenge.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
A prequel to Practical Magic, this book takes us back to the Owens in the 1600s.
A little slow getting started, the book does not disappoint. Typical Hoffman. 5 stars.

From the moment I knew this book was coming out, I desperately wanted to read it. Practical Magic is one of my all-time favorite movies that I watch every year in October. I love magic and witches but even more than that, I love the stories of the Owens women. When Alice Hoffman wrote The Rules of Magic, I fell in love with that one just as much as I loved Practical Magic. And what could be better than traveling back in time to where it all began… Maria Owens.

It didn’t take me very long to completely love this book. Reading about Maria and how she grew up and what circumstances brought her to Massachusetts. Maria is such a great character and Alice Hoffman did a wonderful job writing her from the baby that Hannah Owens took in and raised as her own, all the way to the very end of the book as a woman who was strong and independent and helped those in need. I loved so many of the characters in this book, especially Maria and Samuel Dias though. From the moment they met, I desperately wanted them to end up together. Another thing that I loved about this book were the historical settings. They were all written so well that I could easily visualize myself walking beside Maria as she experienced everything in those places. One of my favorite things in this book were the additions to Maria’s Grimoire. I almost felt like grabbing a blank journal and writing everything down to make my own Grimoire.

This story and the writing were so magical and lyrical. This is definitely a book to be savored and not rush through. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

5 Stars

Pure magic in every way !

To anyone who doesn’t want to read this because they don’t believe in magic or witchcraft, you will be missing out because this is about so much more. To those of you who loved the Owens family from [book:Practical Magic|22896] and [book:The Rules of Magic|34037113], I think you might love this one, too. I can’t say that I believe in magic or witchcraft, but I believe in the magic that Hoffman so eloquently speaks of in a letter to her readers at the beginning of the book - the magic of stories. The letter is a gorgeous testament to the beauty of storytelling that she masters.

Hoffman takes us back to the 1600’s and the beginnings of the Owens’ family love curse with the story of Maria Owens and her daughter Faith . Yes, there is witchcraft and the magic of potions and curses and spells, but there is also magic easy to believe in, the magic of healing, the magic of kindness, the magic of love. There is also Hoffman’s magical writing that had me under a spell and helped me to escape, for a while anyway, from the things happening in the world, in my country in particular, and from the personal burdens I carry as all of us carry at some point in our lives. From Essex, England to Curaçao, to Salem, Massachusetts to New York back to Salem, we are taken on Maria’s life journey. I’ll leave the details of that for readers to discover on their own.

The novel left me wanting some “Courage Tea” and some of Maria’s black soap so I could “look ten years younger.” It left me hoping everyone could have a “familiar” and that every young woman will find a Samuel Dias in their life. It left me still loving the Owens family who I discovered in the other two novels in this series. Alice Hoffman is a prolific writer who has written over thirty works of fiction. I have read nine of them so I was left feeling glad that I have so many more to enjoy.

I read this with Diane and Esil for our monthly read along.

I received a copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through Edelweiss and NetGalley

If you've ever read Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, and wanted to know more about Maria Owens (mentioned in both as the woman who built the Owens home and established the rules by which the Owens lived their lives) here's your chance. My advice - take it. It begins in 1664 and I enjoyed this story of how Maria left England and eventually found herself in Salem, Massachusetts - not the best time/place for someone with her gift to find herself. She of course does survive - not without peril, both for herself and for her daughter. In learning to "go along to get along" in modern terms, she establishes the rules for survival that she passes along for future generations of her family to live by. But the rules are for more than survival, they're also rules that we could all stand to live by. Her journey is an interesting one, full of love and loss and joy and heartache. I highly recommend this one.

absolutely amazing! worth every second of the 25 year wait! can not wait for more stories of the owens family.... maybe a book about sallys daughters or even aunt isabelle?!

What I like about the Practical Magic series is Hoffman's poetic writing, the themes of family and love, and, well...the magic infused throughout the whole story. She frequently includes spells and herbal remedies in her books, and that really makes each story feel "magical." Strong female characters in historical settings are always a draw for me too.

Magic Lessons was a bit of a slow start for me, more so than The Rules of Magic and Practical Magic. But once I got into the story, I couldn't stop reading. If you enjoyed the other books in the series, this is definitely a must-read.